On 16 October, the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier ‘KSL Sydney’ was attacked 340 nm off the coast of Somalia in the Somali Basin, according to data provided by EU NAVFOR.
Due to the application of BMP protection measures by the Master, his crew and the private security team, the piracy attack was thwarted and the crew and vessel remained safe. The Master had already evacuated the crew to the citadel when the embarked Armed Security Team (PAST) responded to the attack,
…official information reads.
There was a sustained exchange of fire before the skiff with several armed people on board broke off and changed course away from the vessel.
Following the collective advice of industry and military counter-piracy operations, as written down in Best Management Practices 5, the Master’s actions and the onboard security team’s reaction “proved essential in preventing the suspected pirates getting aboard and seizing the vessel,” EU NAVFOR noted.
As soon as the ship’s Master had contacted UKMTO (the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation), EU NAVFOR –MSCHOA conducted an initial incident assessment and issued an alert and navigation warning to all merchant shipping transiting the area.
The coordination of a military response swiftly followed by EU NAVFOR with other counter-piracy missions such as the Combined Maritime Forces’ dedicated counter-piracy task force to ensure a coordinated response to the attack.
As a direct consequence, EU NAVFOR’s Force Commander, Rear Admiral Alfonso Nanclares, deployed several counter-piracy assets of Operation ATALANTA in the Somali Basin to maintain heightened vigilance.
In its piracy report for the second quarter of 2018, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported a total of 107 piracy incidents in African waters in the first half of the year. In contrast to Nigerian piracy in the wider area of Gulf of Guinea, Somali piracy seems to present a downward trend in this year so far.
